Paris by design

After three years of going back and forth with the designs, Paris Hilton can finally say she has added another first to her growing empire.

The hotel heiress’ first-ever real еstatе project under her own brand was recently inaugurated in the country under the auspices of Century Properties. Hilton first visited the country to announce her collaboration with real еstatе giant in 2011. She now owns up to 18 product lines, ranging from fashion and beauty to property as the Paris Beach Club of Azure Urban Resort in Bicutan, Parañaque is the first but not the last project she will have with the developer.

Proving to be quite a landmark in the south, the six-hectare Azure Urban Resort Residences features the Paris Beach Club as its centerpiece. The multi-level beach club depicts the former-reality TV star and Hilton hotel heir’s personality.

Century Properties co-chief operating officer John Victor “Jigger” Antonio shares that during the initial stages, he could not envision the heiress’ ideas. They used to exchange ideas 10 or more times during the past three years, with Paris giving them a “very thick sort of bible” to follow, including a preference for pink into the design scheme, which is predominantly black and white.

The ground level features a high-ceilinged lobby with chandeliers and black velvet chairs. It also has a colorful ice cream and candy bar. The same as the ground level, both the Social Lounge at the second level and Long Bar at the third level are decorated with chandeliers and plush black velvet chairs. Besides these, the spas and locker rooms are found at the second level.

“It was all her idea, and I was like, ‘Huh.’ But when we started building it, I then I realized it was beautiful,” recalls Antonio, who also found sense in putting up a DJ booth in the gym located at the third floor.

The overall design resonates with the heiress’ brand, which is a direct reflection of her lifestyle. Known to be a party girl, Paris has been to the most exclusive and happening party places in the world. In fact, she’s a resident disc jockey (DJ) in Amnesia, a popular club in Ibiza. Antonio also reveals that Paris has a DJ booth and recording studio in her house, which he saw when he visited her.

Besides a regular fixture in Ibiza, Paris shares she has been to the most wonderful beaches in the world like Bora Bora, Fiji and St. Tropez. Paris’ love for the beach is the reason why Century Properties thought of collaborating with her. Antonio revealed that it was his wife who suggested the heiress since she is known to love beaches and is popular with Filipinos, who, in turn, are also known to love their beaches.

The Paris Beach Club is just one of the sights of Azure Urban Resort Residences. Beside it is the sprawling man-made beach complete with waves and export-quality sand from the province of Masbate. Adding to the resort feel are the poolside bar and infinity pool that overflows into the private beach coves located at the opposing ends of the development.

Antonio shares that with the Paris Beach Club and the three towers out of the nine — Rio, Santorini and the newly-completed St. Tropez — the whole development is only almost 50 percent underway. Named after the most popular beach destinations in the world, the other towers, namely, Positano, Maui, Maldives, Miami, Bahamas and Boracay are yet to be built.

Besides featuring the resort-themed amenities, Antonio shares that they have also taken into consideration the development’s ecological features. The buildings, he adds, only take five percent of the entire development. Sixty-five percent is allotted to open spaces and roads. As for the structures themselves, each of the nine towers will have roof deck, which will have gardens in it.

The Paris Beach Club is one of Century Properties’ branded developments. They also partnered with the Trump Organization for Trump Tower; Versace Home for The Milano Residences; John Hitchcox and Philippe Starck’s yoo inspired by Starck for Acqua Iguazu; Missoni Home for Acqua Livingstone; Daniel Libeskind and Armani/Casa for Century Spire; GE Healthcare for Centuria Medical Makati.